BSF, Pakistan Rangers hold talks

New Delhi, Sep 10 (IANS) The Border Security Force (BSF) and the Pakistan Rangers on Thursday began high-level talks to address a range of issues, including the recent ceasefire violations on the frontier in Jammu and Kashmir.

A high-level delegation from Pakistan Rangers arrived in India on Wednesday for the director general-level talks.

The 15-member team of Pakistani Rangers was led by Major General Umar Farooq Burki, director general of the Pakistan Rangers (Punjab).

The truce violations are likely to be the focus of the talks, with at least two BSF personnel being wounded in firing on Wednesday in Nowgam sector of Jammu and Kashmir.

The Pakistan Army also fired at Indian positions on Wednesday along the Line of Control (LoC) in Poonch district.

The talks, one of the measures agreed upon during a meeting between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Pakistani counterpart Nawaz Sharif in the Russian city of Ufa in July, are significant as discussions at the National Security Adviser-level scheduled for last month collapsed due to Pakistan’s insistence on bringing up the Kashmir issue.

From the Indian side, a 23-member delegation led BSF chief D.K. Pathak is taking part in the talks.

The Indian delegation includes officials from the home ministry, the Narcotics Control Bureau and the Survey of India.